Astroturf

Grass is out and AstroTurf is going in at the Citrus Bowl stadium. The Orlando City Council voted Monday to negotiate a contract with AstroTurf to install the artificial turf pioneer's fake grass at the Citrus Bowl stadium. The deal isn't final, but the vote all but guarantees that AstroTurf — rather than a competing artificial surface — will soon be underfoot at the stadium. The decision follows a nationally televised debacle during the most recent Capital One and Champs Sports bowls, when players slid around on loose sod that had recently been laid down and was then deluged by heavy rainfs.

Soup Bowl be gone! The new AstroTurf field project has been completed at the Florida Citrus Bowl and tickets for the Champs Bowl and Capital One Bowl go on sale today. Tickets can be purchased at any Ticketmaster, at Amway Arena, by phone (800-745-3000) or online at ticketmaster.com. The Champs Bowl, which features top performing teams from the Atlantic Coast and Big East Conferences, takes place Dec. 28 and the Capital One Bowl, which features the Big Ten and SEC Conferences, will take place January 1, 2011.

President Clinton recently said something that is even more confusing than when he makes policy wonk-talk.He was at an auto plant in Louisiana, making a speech to the workers, and he noted that there were some new trucks behind him.He said: ''When I was a younger man and had a life, I owned an El Camino pickup in the '70s. It was a real sort of Southern deal. I had Astroturf in the back. You don't want to know why, but I did.''A couple of things in that statement puzzle me.First, I don't understand what he means by: ''When I was a younger man and had a life . . . in the '70s.

Some of us are still shaking our heads at the baseball folly that happened in Tampa Thursday afternoon. The Tampa Bay Rays were knocked out of a first place tie with the New York Yankees in the American League East because of its old, dilapidated stadium, Tropicana Field. A popup that should have resulted in the third out for the Minnesota Twins ultimately helped give way to a game-winning single after the ball clanked off the stadium catwalk. "If you want a really good reason why there is a new ballpark necessary in this area, there it is," Rays manager Joe Maddon told local newspapers.

During the football season, Florida State players typically spend their Friday afternoons traveling to games, relaxing or studying their offensive or defensive assignments and game plans. This afternoon, after their charter flight lands in Syracuse, N.Y., buses will transport them to the Carrier Dome for an important workout. Their mission is simple: They must acclimate to playing on a carpet that, on close inspection, looks nothing like real grass. "This is my first time playing on it, so it's a new experience," sophomore cornerback Antonio Cromartie said.

Soup Bowl be gone! The new AstroTurf field project has been completed at the Florida Citrus Bowl and tickets for the Champs Bowl and Capital One Bowl go on sale today. Tickets can be purchased at any Ticketmaster, at Amway Arena, by phone (800-745-3000) or online at ticketmaster.com. The Champs Bowl, which features top performing teams from the Atlantic Coast and Big East Conferences, takes place Dec. 28 and the Capital One Bowl, which features the Big Ten and SEC Conferences, will take place January 1, 2011.

Question: Soon, I will be receiving as my first car -- drumroll, please -- a 1993 Buick Roadmaster station wagon! My parents have given me permission to decorate it in any way, as long as it does not destroy the "value" of the car. In other words, they don't want me to do anything that can't be removed when it's time to sell the car. So, as my big design, I decided to cover the wood details with AstroTurf, or another substance like it. My question: What...

Pro football and violence are a perfect fit, like stretching a fine leather covering around the steering wheel of a sports car. An angry driver stuck in rush-hour traffic can punch his steering wheel all afternoon, and the leather will absorb the shock with hardly a hint of damage. Unfortunately, the human body isn't as resilient.Look at the injuries that are piling up in the NFL. Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino, Indianapolis Colts lineman Steve Emtman and others are on crutches. The Washington Redskins, Super Bowl champions two years ago, are like an expansion team now because of an incredible rash of injuries.

Grades really do count after high school endsHigher grades in high school can mean money in the bank, even if you aren't college bound. In fact, each tenth of a point you add to your grade-point average should mean an extra $800 a year in earnings after you've graduated. For example, a high school grad with a 3.2 average will earn $2,400 a year more than one with a 2.9 average. The recent University of Pennsylvania study involved 3,000 workers who didn't go to college. They were surveyed three years after their high school graduation.

Some of us are still shaking our heads at the baseball folly that happened in Tampa Thursday afternoon. The Tampa Bay Rays were knocked out of a first place tie with the New York Yankees in the American League East because of its old, dilapidated stadium, Tropicana Field. A popup that should have resulted in the third out for the Minnesota Twins ultimately helped give way to a game-winning single after the ball clanked off the stadium catwalk. "If you want a really good reason why there is a new ballpark necessary in this area, there it is," Rays manager Joe Maddon told local newspapers.

The 74-year reign of natural grass ends at the Citrus Bowl Stadium this week as workers dig up the sod and prepare to replace it with AstroTurf. Natural grass kept players and fans happy for decades, but a dismal performance in front of a national television audience was enough to convince Orlando officials to go synthetic. Seven months after fans watched players in the Capital One Bowl flounder through muddy chunks of loose sod, the city is close to rolling out AstroTurf GameDay Grass 3D. "We don't have to cut it," said Allen Johnson, city venues director.

Grass is out and AstroTurf is going in at the Citrus Bowl stadium. The Orlando City Council voted Monday to negotiate a contract with AstroTurf to install the artificial turf pioneer's fake grass at the Citrus Bowl stadium. The deal isn't final, but the vote all but guarantees that AstroTurf — rather than a competing artificial surface — will soon be underfoot at the stadium. The decision follows a nationally televised debacle during the most recent Capital One and Champs Sports bowls, when players slid around on loose sod that had recently been laid down and was then deluged by heavy rainfs.

During the football season, Florida State players typically spend their Friday afternoons traveling to games, relaxing or studying their offensive or defensive assignments and game plans. This afternoon, after their charter flight lands in Syracuse, N.Y., buses will transport them to the Carrier Dome for an important workout. Their mission is simple: They must acclimate to playing on a carpet that, on close inspection, looks nothing like real grass. "This is my first time playing on it, so it's a new experience," sophomore cornerback Antonio Cromartie said.

Question: Soon, I will be receiving as my first car -- drumroll, please -- a 1993 Buick Roadmaster station wagon! My parents have given me permission to decorate it in any way, as long as it does not destroy the "value" of the car. In other words, they don't want me to do anything that can't be removed when it's time to sell the car. So, as my big design, I decided to cover the wood details with AstroTurf, or another substance like it. My question: What...

Billed as the Eighth Wonder of the World by original Astros owner Judge Roy Hofheinz, the Astrodome was the first ballpark to have a roof over the playing field. It also boasted cushioned orange and red seats, 53 futuristic "skyboxes," and a $2 million scoreboard featuring home run extravaganzas, cartoons and helpful instructions to fans. At first, the Astrodome had real grass. An exhibition game between the Astros and the New York Yankees demonstrated that the semi-transparent cream-colored panels in the roof made fly balls too difficult to see. So, the ceiling tiles were painted, and the grass died, prompting the invention of plastic grass known as AstroTurf, which was installed for Opening Day, 1966.

USF ON CUSA FAST TRACK The Tampa Tribune reported that South Florida could become a full-fledged football member of Conference USA next season, a year ahead of schedule. That is predicated on Marshall joining the league as a football-only member in time for next season. Expansion will be discussed when the league's athletic directors meet Oct. 3 and when the league's presidents meet Oct. 15. The presidents have the final say on expansion. If Marshall joins the league and USF becomes a full-fledged member, the league will have 12 football-playing schools and be able to hold a league championship game next season.

Soft, plush, green Hybrid Bermuda grass.The natural surface at Sun Devil Stadium could be the intangible that helps push second-ranked Florida to its first national championship when it takes on No. 1 Nebraska in the Fiesta Bowl on Tuesday.Florida (12-0) played 11 of its 12 games on grass this season. Nebraska (11-0) did not play a single down on it.''I'm certainly glad we're playing on natural grass,'' said UF coach Steve Spurrier, whose Gators held their first practice in Phoenix on Wednesday.

You Chicago Bears fans out there expect to do a lot of jumping for joy this season, correct?How would you like to perform your joy-jumping on a section of the Louisiana Super Dome's Astroturf -- scene of the Bears' breezy triumph in Super Bowl XX -- in the privacy of your own home?No, this isn't a sales pitch. It's the gist of a ''Bear Rugs'' press conference slated for Wednesday in Chicago (also known as the Bearest City).The press conference has been called by a pair of Central Florida businessmen, who report that they have aroused the interest of Sports Illustrated, Sport magazine, The Sporting News, Wall Street Journal and a bulk of Chicago's electronic and print media.

Soft, plush, green Hybrid Bermuda grass.The natural surface at Sun Devil Stadium could be the intangible that helps push second-ranked Florida to its first national championship when it takes on No. 1 Nebraska in the Fiesta Bowl on Tuesday.Florida (12-0) played 11 of its 12 games on grass this season. Nebraska (11-0) did not play a single down on it.''I'm certainly glad we're playing on natural grass,'' said UF coach Steve Spurrier, whose Gators held their first practice in Phoenix on Wednesday.

Kansas City traditionally has tailored its teams to the characteristics of Royals Stadium by relying on speed, pitching and defense.So what happens when the Royals are unable to cater to the AstroTurf and deep dimensions?Adapt the stadium setup to the personnel.Kansas City has replaced the artificial turf with natural grass and moved the fences in 10 feet to offset its lack of speed and benefit the power of Bob Hamelin and others.''I think it definitely will help because I don't see us as a speed team, and you need that with AstroTurf and big (outfield)